


Therapeutic Asphodel

by Jmax523



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fighting Out Your Problems, M/M, Talking in Combat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27770524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jmax523/pseuds/Jmax523
Summary: When you find you have nobody to vent your issues to, you start to work with what you have. The son of the god of the dead is rife with issues, especially concerning the other gods who reside in the Underworld, but lately can't seem to get one god in particular out of his head.
Relationships: Charon & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	Therapeutic Asphodel

Stepping through the threshold onto the soot and ash-covered stones of Asphodel, Prince Zagreus took in a deep breath of the sulfury air, sighing. This was, what, attempt number 15? Of clawing his way through the Underworld to the surface, and the fiery rivers of the Phlegethon that had overtaken Asphodel had started to seem unwelcoming. Stepping onto the small raft of skulls waiting to ferry him to the first chamber of Asphodel, Zagreus sat down for a moment, resting the Eternal Spear, Varatha, over his shoulders as the bone-built barge drifted off through the magma. He thought of an earlier attempt at escape, one where he had gotten much farther than the young prince was now. Zagreus had battled all the way to the heavenly meadows of Elysium, so close to the top, he was sure if he could jump high enough, he could punch through the roof of the realm and find himself on the surface. It was in these meadows he had met Thanatos, another resident of the House of Hades, and Death incarnate. Thanatos had appeared without warning, angry with Zagreus for his attempts to escape his father’s domain. Unlike Hades, however, Thanatos was much vaguer with Zagreus as to what ailed him, only ever stating that Zagreus had tried to leave without saying goodbye to him.

“Quiet, old man, I know all that already,” Zagreus said to nobody in particular as the raft came to port at one of Asphodel’s islands of black stone and bubbling lava. The prince heard the rattling of bones, and he spun Varatha to his hands, stepping off the raft and spotting the skeletal figures dotting the island. The first of the two Bone-Rakers fell without issue as the prince dashed forward, driving the two points of the spear against the base of the skeleton’s spine, shoving it backward off the island, into the magma of the Phlegethon behind it. The bones of the skeleton started to dissolve, and Zagreus heard the second’s footsteps from behind him. Sidestepping the blue skeleton’s attack, Zargeus spun Varatha out to his side, catching the skeleton’s leg, and sending tumbling to the ground. 

“It’s not like I don’t _try_ to talk to him…” Zagreus muttered to himself as he plunged Varatha’s head into the Bone-Raker’s skull, shattering it like clay. The sigil of the Underworld burned itself into the ground nearby Zargeus, and another Bone-Raker appeared, swiping at the prince with its long, razor-sharp fingers. 

“He’s just…” Zagreus leaped into the air, driving Varatha down into the skeleton’s head, and throwing the weapon over the magma behind him, and reaching out with his palm, “...Difficult to approach." Varatha flew back into Zagreus’ hand, leaving the Bone-Raker to fall into the fiery waters. Around him, more skeletal beasts appeared in bursts of flame, two familiar Bone-Rakers, and two much larger, blood-red Wave-Makers burst in behind them.

“It’s not like he’s some paragon of emotional vulnerability…” Zagreus threw Varatha towards one of the Wave-Makers and dashed back as the two Bone-Rakers swiped at him, conveniently lining up in front of Zagreus. Reaching out again, Varatha speared through the necks of the two Bone-Rakers from behind, separating the skulls from the rest of the blue skeletons, “...It’s not like _I’d_ just vanish on someone as soon as I was done talking."

The Wave-Makers slammed their bony fists into the ground, sending arcs of red energy flying towards Zagreus, who dashed first to the side of the attack, then directly at the pair of red skeletons, thrusting forward with Varatha. The two-pointed spear cracked the ribs of one of the Wave-Makers, who went stumbling backward into the other. Zagreus raised Varatha over his head, slashing downward into a spin, and the spearhead cut through the femurs of the first Wave-Maker. 

“That’d just be rude, right?” Zagreus asked the other Wave-Maker as the prince thrust forward with Varatha, shattering the center of the huge skeleton’s rib cage. The red skeleton dropped to the ground, fading to dust as Zagreus dismissed Varatha, the two-pointed spear vanishing from his hands, “Yeah, you lads get it."

A bright orange sphere appeared in the center of the island, bearing the symbol of a single wing, and as Zagreus reached out to accept the message, the voice of Hermes, God of Swiftness and Messenger of Olympus, filled his ears.

**“You know who keeps me awful busy, Coz? Ares. Nothing like a good old war amongst the mortals to create demand for lots and lots of messages to go around."**

Accepting the boon, Zagreus summoned Varatha, spinning the spear around his head and shoulders, and noticing that the titan-killing spear felt lighter in his hands. Finding his way to the next skeletal raft, Zagreus dismissed the empowered Varatha and felt around his robes for the stoppered bottle of nectar nestled inside it. As the raft pushed off to the next island, he wondered if he would find the bottle’s recipient this time. 

* * *

“Actually, another thing…” Zagreus continued as the raft docked at the next island, and he returned Varatha to his hands. Two towering skeletons gave rattling hisses as they noticed the prince, reaching over their shoulders into the glowing pots on their backs. 

“I _did_ try to say goodbye to Than!” Zagreus defended as the two Inferno-Bombers threw two flaming black spheres towards the prince, who bolted out of the way as the spheres erupted into two massive fireballs, “The first night I tried to escape, I stood outside his room for _ages_!."

This was true, the unruly prince had stood outside Death’s door for over two hours the day he first told himself he would escape the Underworld, trying to work up the nerve to speak to Thanatos on the other side.

“I was not ‘working up the nerve’!” Zagreus defended as he drove Varatha through the shoulder of one of the Inferno-Bombers, the skeleton’s arm dropping uselessly to the ground, though not killing the fleshless beast. 

“He locked the door, I was _going_ to catch him when he came out, but he was taking too long! I had to get going!” The one-armed Inferno-Bomber caught the blunt end of Varatha as it spun forward, shattering the skeleton’s jaw. Zagreus pivoted to face the other Inferno-Bomber, who had run around behind the prince and was readying another explosive to hurl at him. 

“I guess I didn’t really want to talk to him, anyway!” Zagreus threw Varatha at the remaining skeleton, catching the lit explosive as the Inferno-Bomber launched it, pinning the bomb to the large skeleton, sending all three hurtling into the magma surrounding the island. Zagreus reached out to return Varatha as the explosive ignited, sending bone fragments and magma all around, though not in a large enough amount to be a danger. 

“It’s never been easy to talk to him!” Zagreus threw his hands up into the air, picking up the dark purple gemstones that appeared on the ground next to him, and walking to the next raft to carry him to the next island. As his skeletal ride floated away, Zagreus felt a chill down his spine, his instincts telling him he wasn’t alone, but as he scanned the area, he saw that the fiery plains of Asphodel surrounding were quiet and empty.

* * *

The raft docked, and Zagreus breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Charon floating nearby one of his shops in the Underworld. Stowing Varatha, Zagreus reached out to claim a large grey heart, feeling his skin grow tougher as he dropped a small pile of coins into the Stygian Boatman’s outstretched hand.

“Charon mate, be square with me, am I crazy? Or is Than hard for you to talk to as well?” The coin vanished into Charon’s gilded robes, and the ferryman of the dead only replied, **“Hmmmmrrrrrrrraaaaaghhhhhh…”**

“You really know how to make a guy feel better, Charon…” Zagreus sighed as he walked past the shop, stepping onto the next skull-floored raft. In the distance, Zagreus recognized the large, oval-shaped island the raft was headed towards as the Barge of Death, and as he arrived, he summoned Varatha, preparing for the fight that awaited him. 

* * *

Waves upon waves of unfriendly Asphodel residents greeted the prince on the Barge, most of which were quickly turned back into dust by Varatha, now blessed with Hermes’ speed, coupled with the prince’s fearsome combat prowess. When it came time for the final wave, and the Barge of Death neared its destination, another chill ran down the prince’s spine as two large Inferno-Bombers and a glowing blue Voidstone rose from the magma surrounding the Barge.

“I don’t know what it is, he’s just…” Zagreus charged the Voidstone, plunging Varatha into its glittering faces, and jumping back as the two Inferno-Bombers chucked their payload at him. The explosives erupted violently, shaking the Barge, and shattering the Voidstone while Zagreus returned Varatha, “...Well, that’s just it, I don’t know! Whenever he shows up, my wit completely escapes me!". Zagreus drew back with one hand, taking a crimson Bloodstone in his palm and hurling it at one of the Inferno-Bombers as the stone began to glow blue with the blessing of Poseidon, “Something about his voice, his eyes, or…."

The impact of the stone shoved the skeleton back against the bony wall of the Barge, and Zagreus quickly hurled Varatha at the other, piercing the knee of the large skeleton, “And I think he knows it! He distracts me with his damn perfect hair, or his admittedly impressive muscles, and then he just vanishes!." Running at the kneeling skeleton as he returned Varatha, Zagreus sprung up into the air, swinging Varatha upward with him, cleaving through the Inferno-Bomber’s massive skull.

“It’s damn frustrating, because I can never get a word in before he just,” Zagreus snapped his fingers as the first Inferno-Bomber faded to dust, and he casually spun Varatha in his free hand as the other pushed itself off the wall and readied a bomb, “You mates know what I mean, right?." Aiming for the Bloodstone embedded in the skeleton’s spine, Zagreus took a running leap at the Inferno-Bomber, Varatha completely severing the backbone of the towering skeleton. The skeleton dropped to the ground in two halves, but as it faded to dust, Zagreus noticed the bomb that was in the Inferno-Bomber’s hand had not faded, and the fuse was quickly shrinking. Zagreus quickly dashed backward away from the hissing sphere, but slammed into the wall of the barge, not far enough away to escape the blast radius of the explosive.

“Oh, this is going to hurt…” Zagreus braced for the explosion, but as he closed his eyes, there was a faint _-clink-_ of metal on stone, and the hissing from the sphere at his feet suddenly stopped. Zagreus opened his eyes and flinched at the massive scythe that had cut the fuse, looking up at Death, who stared back at him with a frown.

* * *

“Cowering in a corner… Truly, the cunning of Lord Hades exudes from you, Zagreus,” Thanatos’ icy voice sent a familiar chill snaking down Zagreus’ spine, the same he felt on the raft before he spoke to Charon.

“You’ve been following me, Than?” Zagreus deduced, dismissing Varatha as Thanatos effortlessly plucked the gleaming scythe from the ground and narrowed his gold-irised eyes at the prince.

“You needed my help, clearly,” Thanatos gestured to the now inert explosive laying at the two god’s feet, which Zagreus picked up, and turned to throw the defused bomb into the Phlegethon, far away from the docked barge, responding, “I’ve survived worse than a little firecracker, Than."

“Your bravado is without equal, Zagreus,” Thanatos sighed, “It is also exactly why you have yet to escape this place. Stupid mistakes like that will add up very quickly, you should know that by now." Zagreus stretched his arms over his head as he turned back to face Thanatos, “Actually, Than, quick question: How long have you been following me?."

“I was able to pick up on your particular trail of destruction by the time you had spoken to Charon. You’re getting easier to track, Zagreus,” Thanatos answered. Zagreus quickly replayed his rant through Asphodel in his head and asked, “Ah. How much of… erm… _that…_ did you hear?." Thanatos coughed, and Zagreus could tell that he was trying to come up with an answer, and Death Incarnate’s inability to meet the Prince of the Underworld’s eyes ironically gave him all the answer he needed.

“Well, you seem to be able to handle yourself,” Thanatos quickly shook his head, and Zagreus quickly jumped out towards him, locking his hand around Thanatos’ wrist, “Hold on a second, Than!." Both of the Underworld deities paused for a moment, and all of Zagreus’ brain seemed to have zeroed in on Thanatos’ wrist in his hand, which, despite having the distinct chill of a cadaver, felt warm in his palm. 

Zagreus pressed the bottle of nectar from his robes into Thanatos’ hand, “This! Is yours." Thanatos closed his fingers around the small bottle, “It’s… very warm." Zagreus looked down at the floor of the Barge of Death, tapping the toes of one of his feet onto the ash-covered stones, “Yeah, it’s been sitting in my robes for a while now… I haven’t had a chance to give it to you."

“You’ve been holding onto this, for me?” Thanatos asked, his chilly voice slowing slightly in surprise, and Zagreus shrugged, “Yeah, call it a parting gift of sorts, since I didn’t say goodbye the first time." Thanatos slipped the bottle into his hood, where it seemed to vanish, “It’s only a parting gift if you can actually get out, Zag…" Zagreus crossed his arms, half-frowning at Thanatos, “I _will_ get out of here, Than."

“Your confidence is admirable, if nothing else. Don’t let the gate hit you on your way out, Zag,” Thanatos turned away from Zagreus, quietly adding, “Thank you. Goodbye."

“Goodbye, Than,” Zagreus echoed as Thanatos vanished in a flash of light, and the prince made his way to the next raft, and set off further into Asphodel.

“This is the one where I get out. It has to be,” Zagreus said to himself, returning Varatha to his hand, “It’d be really embarrassing to run into him again after _that_."

**Author's Note:**

> (So... I got Hades. Can't say I'll be writing for this game as much as my other circles, but the more I play, the more tempting it becomes. Consider this a test of my ability to work with these characters.)
> 
> (As always, if there's somewhere I can improve or something you liked, let me know, and thanks for reading! If for some reason you want to talk more about what I do here, or you're just sick of waiting for me to update and want to harass me personally, you can find me here: [Tumblr](https://jmax523.tumblr.com/))


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